Swan
by shinigamivc
Summary: Saya overhears a conversation between Joel and Amshel and questions Haji for answers.Past fic. Unoffically part of my 'firsts' collection HAJISAYA ONSHOT


Ok, this doesn't have a 'First -insert word here-' title, sorry. 'Swan' fit perfectly. Lol. It is part of that collection of stories, though… unofficially of course, cause the title doesn't fit TT lol. It doesn't matter all that much anyway. There isn't so much…. Tension in this one, but some definite HajiSaya stuff.

I also know some of you were saying you wanted to see a story more from Saya's POV (I LIKE writing from Haji's POV so I just tend to… sorry.) Well, this one is from Saya's. YAY! Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Just cause I'm supposed to put these (though I forget a lot… oops), I don't own Blood+ or it's characters, only in my dreams I do…. I do, however, have a bit of ownership over this fics plot and my ideas, so please don't steal them… I don't have much else. Thanks.

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_Swan_

By Ren-chan (shinigamivc)

Saya collapsed in the thick green grass of the front lawn in her fencing uniform. All morning she had been practicing with her blade, but there was only so much she could do on her own and she was bored of it now. She spread her arms out and watched the clouds for a moment. What a boring day. She lifted her arm and threw her blade a few yards; fencing was boring if she had no one to duel. And why was no one paying attention to her today? She was almost never alone, so why today? Why did no one want to be around her? She groaned loudly, "WHERE'S HAJI!?"

With that she rolled over onto her side, remembering. Haji had to go somewhere today. Where was it? To town or with Joel or… she couldn't remember. It wasn't important anyway. He wasn't here with her, and that was all that mattered. She missed him suddenly; he would know what to do, or at the very least, he'd be someone for her to talk to. She huffed and closed her eyes, deciding suddenly to pretend she had died. If someone saw she out on the lawn lying perfectly still, they would surely run out to see if she was okay. At least then, she'd have someone to talk to.

And so she stayed that way for the better of twenty minutes, perfectly still. She heard footsteps slowly approaching. Deducing quickly that they were not running out to see if she was alright, Saya opened one eye, half expecting it to be Haji looking for her. Instead, she saw Joel, followed closely by Amshel. The two were deep in conversation and thus did not notice her as she got up and crept over to them. She heard Haji's name once, and a protective sense came over her: if they were thinking of sending Haji away or something, she would not hear of it!

The two men sat down at an old stone table in the garden, in mid discussion. They didn't seem to notice as Saya crept up and hid behind a nearby tree. Amshel seemed rather heated about whatever they were talking about, while Joel was calm and patient, sticking to his viewpoint but trying to hear Amshel out as well.

"You've let this go on for too long!" Amshel fumed, on his feet in another second. Joel stayed in his seat, completely unfazed by Amshel's tone. "This should not be rushed. Those two are very close; it wouldn't be right to force anything upon them now. They'll get there on their own."

"This is not supposed to be about love. You can't keep playing matchmaker. She's not your daughter and Haji is nothing more than a necessary part of the experiment. He is not meant to be a suitor." Amshel calmed down somewhat. Joel shook his head; "It's more important right now that Saya and Haji stay close. I am old and I don't have much time left. She'll need him in the future."

"You've become too attached." Amshel shook his head. "They are meant to be mates; that has always been the point. That boy should realize that by now, maybe he was a bad choice…"

"No." Joel's voice was suddenly firm, "Haji has always been the right choice. He knows Saya is not human and accepts it. He cares for her…"

"He cares for her too much. The boy refuses to do any sort of action." Amshel sighed, "Do you really plan on continuing this way, pretending that she is a normal girl and he is simply her groom-to-be, her suitor?"

"If it is my choice." Joel stood up and began walking back to the house. Amshel followed closely, "That it is…."

Saya looked around the tree, watching them walk back through the garden. She whispered a few choice words through her teeth, "love…experiment…suitor…mates…"

What did they mean? And what did Haji know that she didn't? She had to find him! She stomped one foot, "Now, where did he say he had to be?!"

So, she decided then that she would hunt for Haji and proceeded to run around the mansion and the grounds looking for him. Thankfully, she was wearing her fencing shoes, which were much easier to run in, or her feet might have given out. As it was, she had searched the whole house and a lot of the grounds and hadn't found him.

She collapsed in about the same spot in the middle of the front lawn, where she had pretended to die an hour or two earlier. She shut her eyes, chest rising and falling quickly and heavily. It was no use; Haji was lost forever. "Saya!"

Saya shot up, looking in the direction of the voice. There was Haji, running across the lawn, cello case in his left hand. He came to a stop in front of her, looking worried. "Are you alright?"

Saya was going to yell at him, but he broke her concentration. Sometimes she thought he was the only one who really cared about her, aside from Joel of course. Earlier, she had been on the lawn, perfectly still for what felt like forever. Now, she had collapsed for no more than 30 seconds, and there he was, looking worried.

"Ye--" she started, then remembered why she was there, "Where have you been?! I've been looking all over for you!"

"In town, remember?" He smiled slightly and took her hand, pulling she to her feet. "Joel wanted me to play for a friend of his. I told you yesterday."

"I forgot…" She said, blushing slightly, embarrassed now that she could recall Haji telling her. There were other matters to take care of though, and things she had to ask him, "Haji, let's go for a walk."

"Of course." He said; she had grabbed his right sleeve and began to drag him gently across the front lawn. Once they were a little ways into the woods, she stopped and turned to look at him. "Haji, what do you know about this 'mates' business?"

"…" Haji's muscles all tightened at once and he nearly dropped the heavy cello case. Saya could be incredibly blunt. "Where did you hear that?"

"From Joel and Amshel." She said, then admitted softly, "I overheard them talking."

"Saya, you shouldn't eavesdrop…" He was suddenly trying to steer her off the subject.

"I know, I know." She said, and then looked up at him. "But I want to know what they were talking about! Amshel called you my 'suitor' and us 'mates', what did he mean?"

"Saya, it's really not important…" He said, dropping the cello case gently and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Then why not just tell me?" She was being very persistent and Haji was having trouble thinking of what to say to her to stop her inquiring. He sighed heavily, what could he tell her? "He means…"

Haji stopped for a moment and Saya waited impatiently, why should Haji know something she didn't? His eyes were off to the side and the hands on her shoulders loosened nervously. Saya saw his nervousness; Haji was rarely at the loss for words like this. "You and I are like… the swans."

"…Swans?" She said, lifting one eyebrow and swatting away his right hand, letting the left stay on her shoulder. He took her action as a 'strike 1' in a set of three.

"The swans," He repeated, speaking of the two beautiful swans that lived in the lake on the other side of the mansion. Saya loved the swans, though they treated her like all other animals did. She thought they were the most beautiful creatures that lived on the grounds. She had once, before Haji had come to live with her, tried sincerely to befriend them. It had only resulted in a few soaked dresses and vicious snaps from the large male, guarding his queen from duress. In the spring, there would often be cygnets following the two. The babies were always gone by next year though, but the two large swans never left the lake. "Are like you and me."

He looked her in the eyes, sincerely hoping she'd understand the comparison and not push the matter. She sighed and looked him in the eyes before shifting her gaze slightly left, thinking. The swans… They were always together, that was like her and Haji. They were very protective of each other, which was also like her and Haji. They were trapped there - Saya thought grimly - like she and Haji were for the time being. Other things she didn't think of: if one were to die, the other would surely follow and, more importantly, that they had babies following them in the spring. These were things only Haji considered.

"Well, I knew that!" She said finally, swatting his other hand off her shoulder and placing both her hands on her hips. He sighed gently, closing his eyes and lifting his chin slightly. She stared up at him, "Haji?"

"Nothing…" He said softly, brushing his fingers through her bangs and pushing them out of her eyes. She smiled at this; she loved when he fussed over things involving her, even if it was just her bangs. He smiled a bit as well, relieved that she seemed satisfied with his answer. "Let's go back. I'll play for you."

Haji picked up the cello case by its thin brass handle and began to walk back to the mansion. She reacted out, grabbing his arm and stopping him. He turned back towards her, raising both eyebrows. She gave a look that demanded he would not laugh or poke fun at her - which he very rarely did anyway. "You're not kidding about this 'swans' thing?"

"No." He said, offering his arm like a proper gentleman. "I'm completely serious."

Saya seemed satisfied enough with him and allowed herself to smile, taking his arm with both of her own and hugging it tightly as they walked. About half way back to the mansion, Saya had settled down and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Haji." She whispered, closing her eyes and relying on him to lead her. He glanced down at her, "Yes?"

"I'm glad we're mates." She said, smiling. He hesitated a bit and looked back at her - so sweet and innocent as she hung off his arm. Maybe one day she would understand. "…Me too."

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Remember that future fic I was talking about a while back? Well, it's still coming! Lol, but I only work on it in school, mostly, so it'll take a while. I'm also doing another story now that takes place mid anime, just look for it in a bit. Anyway, enough chatter! **Reviews are love and make me so happy I wanna write… you want me to write, don't you?** Lol, please?


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